新东方英语：跟“心”有关的idioms

英文里面有很多含有body parts的expression，有一些不能从字面意思理解，例如pull somebody’s
leg不是“拽某人的腿”，而是to play a joke on somebody, usually by making them believe
something that is not true;have butterflies in your stomach也不是“在胃里有蝴蝶”，而是to have
a nervous feeling in your stomach before doing something.
不过有一些就特别好懂，而且跟中文也好神似。下面就来看看跟“心”有关的这11个idioms.

230_1803070948108Rfc86dtkby2Z2B057.jpg

1. from the bottom of my heart “从心底里……”，偶尔也可以省略bottom of my说成from the
heart.
You can use this when you are trying to say how sincerely and seriously you
feel about something. As an example, if you are really grateful about something
that someone has done for you, you can thank him or her from the bottom of your
heart.再例如：
I beg you, from the bottom of my heart, to spare his life.
It was clearly an offer that came from the heart.2. with all my heart “完全地，全心全意地”，等于completely，偶尔也说成with my whole heart.
This is similar to something being from the bottom of your heart, but it
means giving a task everything you have got. As an example, you can sing with
all your heart. This idiom is very similar to an adjective you can use as you
can do something “wholeheartedly”.
再比如：
I hope with all my heart that things work out for you.3. have a soft spot in my heart for you“喜欢你”，偶尔也直接简化成have a soft spot for
you.
It means that you are fond of somebody in some way. This is not normally in
a romantic way, but more as an indication that maybe you have some shared
history or that they did something endearing to you at some point in the past.
It also normally means you will likely overlook some of that person’s more
obvious flaws!
例如：
She’s always had a soft spot for you.4. pour my heart out“对某人掏心掏肺的表达自己”，也经常说成pour out your heart to
somebody或者open your heart to somebody.
To pour your heart out might sound quite unpleasant, but what it really
means is that you open up emotionally by telling someone your story and how you
really feel without holding anything back, to tell them all your problems,
feeling, etc. 5. wear your heart on your sleeve“情绪外露”
This is both a fashion mistake and an idiom. If you wear your heart on your
sleeve, it means you are very open about how and what you feel or allow your
feelings to be seen by other people. This might be an idiom that is particularly
common in England, as we English are prone to being reserved and closed off
about our feelings and keen to avoid wearing our hearts on our sleeves.
例如：
He’s not one to wear his heart on his sleeve.6. I don’t have the heart to do that.“我不忍心这么做”
You can use this idiom if you’re asked to do something that you feel would
be cruel, or doing anything that you feel might upset or offend someone.
例如：
I just didn’t have the heart to tell her that I didn’t like her
singing. 7. to be young at heart“人老心不老”
Being young at heart means you might act in a way that is thought of as a
lot younger than your age, you are thinking and behaving like a young person
even when you are old. As an example, someone in their 50s who still
occasionally acts like they’re in their 20s by going water-skiing could be
described as young at heart. This does not necessarily have to be actions but
can simply be the way people feel, talk or even think.
例如：
My father is 76 but he’s still young at heart. 8. tug at the heartstrings“拨动心弦”也可以说pull at somebody’s heartstrings.
If you are being made to feel sad or sympathetic towards someone, it might
be that they are tugging at your heartstrings. This means that something is
working to get you into that emotional state. It’s causing strong feelings of
love or pity in you. This can also apply to films or music that are purposefully
trying to make you feel this way.
例如：
That movie really pulls at your heartstrings. 9. cross my heart and hope to die“我发誓”，也可以简单说cross my heart.
If you make a promise to someone, you can then express how seriously you
take that promise by saying that you cross your heart and hope to die. You
emphasize that you are telling the truth or will do what you promise. This is
also something that you normally say if you’re about eight years old, so it
might not be something you hear very often unless you work with children!
The follow up to “cross my heart and hope to die” is sometimes “stick a
needle in my eye”. Childhood can be a dark place.
例如：
I saw him do it—cross my heart.10. find it in your heart to do something“能够、愿意做某事”，也可以说find it in yourself
to do something.
Someone might ask if you can find it in your heart. Unless you are
attending a lecture at medical school, this is when someone is asking you to
reconsider something or trying to persuade you to do something and change your
mind about something.
例如：
Can you find it in your heart to forgive her?
He couldn’t find it in himself to trust anyone again.11. have a change of heart“改变心意”
If you have a change of heart, your attitude towards something changes,
usually making you feel more friendly, helpful, etc.
例如：
Dan did not want to get married but recently he’s had a change of
heart.